‘Can we afford the pub? I’d like a beer with my burger.’
‘Today’s payday—let’s go for it. It’ll mean rice and beans next week, but I can cope.’
‘Me too. I take it that means you don’t have tenure either.’
‘Oh, haven’t you heard of me? I’m Celeste Carlucci, who got a two-year holding pattern for stealing her best friend’s research.’ Might as well get it over with. I looked sideways at him, waiting for his expression to change. It did, but to amusement. I hadn’t been expecting that. ‘How come you’re not filled with contempt?’
‘Because now I’m remembering the story, and as I recall, you stole it because you thought you were saving the Purple River.’
‘Well, yeah, that is what I thought. Most people don’t believe me, though.’
He laughed in a cold way that scared me a little. ‘If you’d bee
